Attitude and Configuration Indicator Display System and Method

ABSTRACT

Attitude and Configuration Indicator Display System and Method within the context of an Electronic Instrument System in which the configuration status of a piloted craft; typically the instant positions of lift inducing elements and drag inducing elements, are represented by symbol groupings integrated with an a parent icon, typically a chevron-type symbol representative of the piloted craft. The symbol groupings receive data from associated on-board sensors and are displayed singly or in combination with each other anytime the piloted craft is not in a clean configuration to instantly alert the pilot(s) of the configuration status with a single glance directed to the attitude indicator.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This Application is a Continuation Application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 12/661,784 filed Mar. 24, 2010.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates generally to electronic instrument display systemsand specifically to the display of configuration settings of a pilotedcraft within an attitude indicator; the piloted craft, including but notlimited to, fixed wing aircraft, rotor-wing aircraft, spacecraft,lighter than air aircraft, and watercraft such as ships, barges, boats,semi-submersibles and fully submersible craft.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Various advances electronic instrument display systems and in particularElectronic Flight Information Systems (EFIS), have been implemented tomake the difficult task of interpreting the operational status ofcommercial aircraft easier for pilots. Generally flight display systemsinclude a primary flight display (PFD) installed in front of the leftseat pilot position and a multi-function display (MFD) positionedcentrally relative to the instrument panel. While the layout of the PFDmay vary considerably depending on the manufacturer and the default orpreferred settings which alter the arrangement of the variousinstruments displayed, the PFD typically includes a centrally positionedattitude indicator, airspeed indicator, altitude indicators, a verticalspeed indicator next to the altitude indicator, and a heading displayshowing the magnetic heading of the aircraft. The attitude indicator isthe most relied on by the pilot especially in low visibility conditions,or instrument flying and reflects the pitch (fore and aft tilt) and theroll (side to side tilt) of the aircraft. While modern attitudeindicators typically have a chevron symbol representing the aircraft inrelationship to an artificial horizon line in which the upward point ofthe chevron represents the nose of the aircraft, other various shapesrepresenting the aircraft are also used.

According to the NTSB, between 1997 and 2006, 22.6% of all aircraftaccidents occurred during takeoff and 35.4% while landing; bothsituations in which the aircraft is substantially more exposed to engineproblems or weather problems such as wind shear, than at most othertimes in the flight. As recognized by those skilled in the art, liftinduced drag and ground effects appear to be contributing factors inmany of these accidents.

Specific lift inducing and drag inducing elements are employed duringtakeoff and landing which together comprise what is known to thoseskilled in the art as the configuration. The configuration elements of amodern aircraft can include the flaps which are hinged surfaces on thetrailing edge of the fixed wings that are deployed to reduce thestalling speed, the slats which are positioned at the leading edge ofthe fixed wings and when deployed allow the wing to operate at a higherangle of attack, the landing gear, the spoilers which are plates on thetop surface of the wings which are extended upward into the airflow toreduce lift, and the reverse thrusters which temporarily redirect a jetengine's exhaust forward to decelerate the aircraft on landing.

The misapprehension of the configuration status, and in particular theposition of the spoilers figures in a number of recent accidents. Whileon most modern transport craft ground spoilers extend automatically upontouchdown, any failure to deploy spoilers in a timely fashion may resultin accidents.

On Jun. 1, 1999 American Airlines Flight 1420 overran the runway atLittle Rock National Airport. The NTSB investigation found that thepilots failed to arm the automatic ground spoiler system.

On Jul. 17, 2007 TAM Airlines Flight 3054 crashed upon landing at theCongonhas-São Paulo International Airport, São Paulo, Brazil. It wasrevealed that the spoilers had not deployed and that only one engine haddeployed its thrust reverser causing the aircraft to careen off therunway.

In some cases, failure to deactivate the spoilers when accelerating hascaused accidents. For example, failure to deactivate the spoilers whileclimbing to avoid a mountain contributed to the crash of AmericanAirlines Flight 965 on Dec. 20, 1995.

Due to the criticality of understanding a piloted craft's instantconfiguration, what is needed is a display system that integratessymbols representative of the piloted craft's configuration elementsimmediately within the bounds of an attitude indicator, and specificallywithin the borders of—or proximate to—the symbol for a piloted craftwhich is centrally displayed within the attitude indicator so a pilotmay obtain the current configuration of the piloted craft from thesingle most relied on indicator.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is most generally, an Attitude and ConfigurationIndicator Display System and Method as part of an Electronic InstrumentDisplay that includes graphical symbol groups representative of thepiloted craft's configuration, i.e., including but not limited to theinstant positional status of the lift inducing and drag inducingelements. In commercial aircraft, the elements typically comprising theconfiguration are considered the flaps, the slats, the landing gear, andthe spoilers. Configuration should be understood to embody informationregarding the deployment, non-deployment, and functioning of theseelements either singly or collectively. More specifically, dedicatedsensors associated with each configuration element provide theinformation via a computerized control system in which the symbol groupsrepresentative of the configuration elements are integrally displayedwithin, or proximate to an aircraft reference symbol, which forexemplary purposes only is depicted herein as a chevron symbol occupyingthe central position within an attitude indicator display. Even morespecifically, the configuration elements are represented as symbolgroups and are differentiated from one another by at least position,shape, behavior, and furthermore, move in concert with the aircraftreference symbol. The present invention makes it possible for thepilot(s) to view and readily apprehend the aircraft's configuration at asingle glance directed to the attitude indicator.

One object of the present invention is to provide a means to quicklyapprehend the configuration status of a piloted craft.

Another object of the present invention is to help prevent accidentscaused by the misapprehension of a piloted craft's configuration duringall phases of flight including take-off and landing.

Yet another object of the present invention is to reduce the number ofdisplays required to apprehend the configuration settings of anaircraft.

A further object of the present invention is to help reduce mentalfatigue due to the concentration required to monitor multiple flightindicators especially in stressful situations.

While examples discussed herein are directed generally to a fixed wingaircraft, as would be appreciated by those skilled in the art having thebenefit of this disclosure, configuration elements; i.e., drag inducingand lift inducing elements, are present in a variety of piloted craft asfor example, the bow planes of a submarine, and thus the descriptionthat follows is not intended to limit the scope of the invention to theparticular forms set forth, but on the contrary, it is intended to coversuch alternatives, modifications, combinations and equivalents as may beincluded within the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth inthe detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a plan view of an enhanced attitude indicator according to thepresent invention in which the piloted craft is in clean configuration;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of an enhanced attitude indicator according to thepresent invention in which the piloted craft has flaps down at 45 degreeposition;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of an enhanced attitude indicator according to thepresent invention in which the piloted craft has landing gear down;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of an enhanced attitude indicator according to thepresent invention in which the piloted craft has spoilers deployed;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of an enhanced attitude indicator according to thepresent invention in which the piloted craft is in full configuration;

FIG. 6 is a detail view of a configuration 12 a representative of apiloted craft in clean configuration;

FIG. 7 is a detail view of a configuration 12 b representative of apiloted craft showing the flaps deployed in 45 degree position;

FIG. 8 is a detail view of a configuration 12 c representative of apiloted craft showing the only the landing gear in down position;

FIG. 9 is a detail view of a configuration 12 d representative of apiloted craft showing the only the spoilers in deployed position;

FIG. 10 is a detail view of a landing configuration 12 e representativeof a piloted craft showing the landing gear deployed, the flaps in the45 degree position and an indicator representing a malfunctioning slat22 on the leading edge of the left wing;

FIG. 11 is a detail view of a configuration 12 f representative of apiloted craft in full configuration with flaps 14 down at 45 degrees asindicated by showing sub-indicators 14 a, 14 b and 14 c, and spoilers 18deployed, landing gear 16 down, reverse thrusters 20 deployed, and likeFIG. 10, depicts a malfunctioning slat 22 on the leading edge of theleft wing;

FIG. 12 is a detail view of a configuration 12 g representative of apiloted craft transitioning to landing configuration; the flapindicators 14 are shown proximate to the borders of the parent icon, theflaps being positioned at 9 degrees as indicated by showingsub-indicators 14 a only;

FIG. 13 is a detail view of an alternate embodiment according to thepresent invention in which the configuration 12 h is representative of apiloted craft partitioning to landing configuration shown with the flapspositioned at 22 degrees as indicated by showing sub-indicators 14 awith sub-indicators 14 c;

FIG. 14 is a detail view of the embodiment shown in F1G. 12 according tothe present invention shown in landing configuration 12 i with the flapsare fully deployed at 45 degrees, the landing gear is down, and,depicted with the left wing slat malfunctioning,

FIG. 15 is a detail view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 12 according tothe present invention shown in full configuration 12 j with the spoilersin deployed position, flaps down, landing gear down and, further,depicted with the left wing slat 22 malfunctioning and a malfunction ofthe left reverse thruster as indicated by the force lines within (left)symbol 20.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Reference Listing

-   10′ enhanced attitude indicator-   12 aircraft reference symbol-   14 flap symbols-   14 a flap position indicator-   14 b flap position indicator-   14 c flap position indicator-   16 landing gear symbols-   18 spoiler symbols-   20 reverse thruster symbol-   22 slat symbols

Referring generally to FIGS. 1-15, an embodiment according to thepresent invention includes an attitude indicator 10′, and a parent icon12 shown here typically as a chevron which represents a piloted craft.The particular shape of the parent icon presented herein is merelyexemplary and should be considered non-limiting. It should also beunderstood that while there are many variants of attitude indicators ofdifferent design possessing an icon different from the chevron shapedepicted and having shapes, colors, borders and proportions that vary,all possess a central icon that at a minimum depicts the wings and noseof the aircraft in relationship to an artificial horizon, if only thewings are represented by two lines and the nose by a point. Referencenumbers 12 a, 12 b, 12 c, 12 d, 12 e, 12 f, 12 g, 12 h, 12 i and 12 jrepresent various configurations of a piloted craft in which the parenticon and the child symbol groups 14, 16, 18, 20 and 22 graphicallyrepresent the instant configuration status of a piloted craft. Thedisplay status of the flaps 14, slats 22, landing gear 16, spoilers 18and reverse thrusters 20 taken together represent the overallconfiguration of a piloted craft at any given time. The flaps, landinggear, reverse thrusters and spoiler groups belong to parent 12. The flapgroup, landing gear group, slats group, thrusters group and spoilersgroup each include a collection of sub-indicators that belong to theirrespective groups. FIG. 1 shows a piloted craft in “clean” configurationin which the landing gear group 16, flaps group 14, spoiler group 18 andreverse thrusters group 20 are not displayed because they are notdeployed in a clean configuration. In FIG. 2 only the flaps 14 aredisplayed indicating that only the flaps are deployed. In the examplesdepicted, there are two flap symbol groups 14, one group each for theport and starboard wings; with each flap group having threesub-indicators that show the positional status of the flaps for theparticular wing. In FIG. 3 only the symbol group for the landing gear 16is displayed indicating that only the landing gear is deployed. In FIG.4 only the spoilers 18 are shown deployed and in FIG. 5 the pilotedcraft is shown in what is generally understood as full configurationstatus with gear 16 down, flaps 14 down, reverse thrusters 20 deployedand spoilers 18 deployed.

Unless otherwise specified, it should be understood that the groupingsdisplayed are merely for purposes of illustration and do not necessarilyindicate of the specific groupings one would encounter in practice. Forexample, it is unlikely that there would be a case of landing geardeployment exclusive of other elements associated with the aircraft'sconfiguration.

FIGS. 6-15 are specific detail views of the parent icon possessing thechild groups. Within each child grouping is a subgroup of individualindicators or sub-indicators representing a single element associatedwith a piloted craft's configuration such as the nose landing gear, or aparticular starboard wing spoiler. See for example, the flap symbolgroups 14 which each contain three separate sub-indicators that indicatethe instant position of the flaps. It should be appreciated that thenumber of flaps per wing and degree setting may vary by manufacturer,and therefore, the particular embodiment shown is again merelyexemplary, and is considered to be non-limiting. In FIG. 7 the flaps 14are shown inside the borders of the parent icon, while in another aspectaccording to the present invention shown in FIGS. 12-15, the flaps areproximate to and outside the borders of parent icon 12. Specificallyreferring to FIG. 10 and FIG. 11, a slat malfunction is shown byindicator 22 which is positioned on the leading edge of each wing.Typically, indicator 22 only displays if there is a malfunction of theleading edge slats, and then only on that portion of the parent icon'sborders associated with the leading edge of the piloted craft's wings.

The child groupings are differentiated from one another by at leastsize, shape and position relative to the parent icon 12 and each other.Preferentially, the child groupings do not overlap and may be displayedsingly, in multiple groups or collectively as in a full configuration.Moreover, within a single group any number of individual members orsub-indicators may display at any given time depending on theconfiguration settings as when a spoiler is deployed on only one wing toaid in roll control. In all cases, the child groups move in concert withthe parent icon and the sub-indicators move in concert with therespective child group, and all child groups are positioned eitherimmediately proximate to, or within the boundaries of the parent icon.

The sub-indicators as members of the child group may behave differentlyfrom each other by pulsing at different rates, and can be distinguishedby color or intensity depending on operational status.

Where aircraft is the piloted craft, the behavior of the child groupingsand individual indicators thereof are mediated by the flight controlsystem which includes the electronics and computer systems to aid inflight and accesses real time metrics from flight sensors associatedwith each of the configuration elements; e.g., a sensor detecting theposition of a particular flap or spoiler. A dysfunctional element mayflash, change colors or both. The indication of malfunction indicated bya flashing child group or sub-indicator may be accompanied by audioalerts. In the case of total engine failure, or failure of the enginesto reverse thrust, one or more of the sub-indicators within the reversethruster (engine) group may blink or display force lines within thesymbol to indicate a malfunction. While the display settings can be setto only display particular groups in the case of malfunction, or simplydisplay each sub-indicator when deployed, preferably the displaysettings would be reduced to a standard and codified.

Child groupings and the sub-indicators thereof can be distinguishedindividually by color or intensity or pulse rate.

The present invention may be a part of a Heads Up Display (HUD).

The foregoing description is not intended to limit the scope of theinvention to the particular embodiments set forth, but on the contrary,it is intended to cover such alternatives, modifications, andequivalents as may be included within the spirit and scope of thedescription in view of the appended drawings and claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An electronic Attitude and ConfigurationIndicator display system comprising: (1) an attitude indicator display,(2) a two-dimensional parent icon with a border residing within boundsof the attitude indicator display in which the parent icon represents apiloted craft, and wherein position of the parent icon indicates atleast the pitch and the roll of the piloted craft, and, (3) a pluralityof child symbol groups adjacent to or on the border of the parent iconwherein each group represents a category of elements associated with theconfiguration of the piloted craft and moves in concert with the parenticon and remains fully visible within the same plane as any other childsymbol group when displayed, regardless of the indicated pitch and roll.2. The Attitude and Configuration Indicator display according to claim 1in which each child symbol group is displayed or hidden in response toreal time data from sensors on the piloted craft.
 3. The attitude andConfiguration Indicator display system according to claim 1 wherein eachchild symbol group is distinguishable from any other child symbol groupby at least its characteristics of position and shape relative to theparent icon.
 4. The Attitude and Configuration Indicator displayaccording to claim 1 in which the plurality of child symbol groups haveat least two sub-indicators as members that indicate an operationalaspect of a configuration element of the piloted craft.
 5. The Attitudeand Configuration Indicator display according to claim 1 in which atleast one child symbol group is within the borders of the parent icon.6. A method of displaying configuration and attitude data within anelectronic instrument display system comprising the steps of: (1)displaying a flat parent icon representing a piloted craft whereinposition of the parent icon indicates at least the pitch and the roll ofthe piloted craft, and, (2) selectively displaying or hiding childsymbol groups on or adjacent to the parent icon in which each childsymbol group represents the instant status of a particular element typeassociated with the piloted craft's configuration wherein each displayedchild symbol group moves in concert with the parent icon and remainsfully visible within the same plane as any other displayed child symbolgroup regardless of the indicated pitch and roll of the parent icon. 7.The Attitude and Configuration Indicator display according to claim 6 inwhich the child symbol groups are displayed or hidden in response to thestatus of configuration elements.
 8. The method according to claim 6 inwhich the element types represented include at least the lift inducingelements and drag inducing elements of the piloted craft.
 9. TheAttitude and Configuration Indicator display according to claim 6 in thechild symbol groups are displayed or hidden in response to real timedata via sensors associated with the configuration elements.
 9. TheAttitude and Configuration Indicator display according to claim 6 inwhich at least one child symbol groups has sub-indicators whichrepresent a particular configuration element associated with the pilotedcraft.
 10. In combination with an electronic instrument display system,an attitude indicator display comprising: a symbolic flattened iconrepresentative of a piloted craft in which the flattened icon's positionwithin the display indicates at least the pitch and the roll of thepiloted craft, and, a plurality of child symbol groups proximate to orwithin said flattened icon wherein each group represents a particularcategory of element associated with the configuration status of thepiloted craft and each child symbol group is distinguishable from theother groups by at least its attributes of position and shape andwherein the plurality of child symbol groups are integrated with theflattened icon and move in concert therewith, and, at least onesub-indicator as part of a child symbol group that indicates anoperational aspect of a configuration element of the piloted craft, andwherein any one child symbol group is viewable on a same plane as anyother child symbol group regardless of the indicated pitch and roll. 10.The Attitude and Configuration Indicator display according to claim 10in which the child symbol groups are displayed or hidden in response toreal time data from sensors on the piloted craft.
 11. The attitudeindicator according to claim 10 in which the categories of elementsrepresented by the child symbol groups include at least the liftinducing elements and drag inducing elements of the piloted craft.